whenever given the shot, they have done it. whenever you level the playing field, they have been able to move. the president and i are not going to rest until the plane field is level, they have a clear shot, and peace of mind. until they can turn to their kid and said, honey, it will be ok. that is what this is all about. >> i want to thank you as well, martha. i want to thank you, joe. it has been an honor to engage in the critical debate. we face a very big choice. what kind of country are we going to be? what kind of country are we going to give our kids? president obama had his chance. he made his choices. his economic agenda, more spending, borrowing, higher

taxes, a government takeover of health care -- it is not working. it has failed to create the jobs we need. 23 million americans are 23 million americans are looking for work today. this is not what a real recovery looks like. you deserve better. mitt romney and i want to earn your support. we are offering real reforms for a real recovery for every american. mitt romney, his experience, his ideas, his solutions is uniquely qualified to get the job done. at a time we have a jobs crisis until a america, would it not be nice to have a job creator in the white house? the choice is clear. a stagnant economy that promotes more government dependency, or a dynamic growing economy that provides opportunity and jobs. mitt romney and i will not duck

the tough issues. we will not blame others for the next four years. we will take responsibility. we will not try to replace our founding principles. we will reapply our founding principles. the choice is clear. the choice rests with you. we ask you for your vote. thank you. >> thank you both again. thank you very much. this concludes the vice- presidential debate. please tune in next tuesday for the second presidential debate in new york. i do hope all of you go to the polls. have a good evening. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] [captioning performed by national captioning institute]

[applause] , livem tonight's debate reaction for the next hour. it is just past 1:00 eastern time in the morning. we are taking your tweets. you can join us on facebook. we will get to your calls in a couple of minutes.

[applause] >> as the vice president the parts, along with paul ryan and their families, a real air and now a chance for you to join us live for conversation. your reaction to the vice presidential debate. our phone lines are open. already some comments from our facebook page. --

>> lupus is on the phone. our line for independence. from massachusetts. >> biden won hands down. it made the romney campaign looks like a joke. i do not get it. >> thank you. robin is next, four republicans. your reaction, robert? caller: it is funny because he can talk about big bird while there are so many things going on in the east with the taliban. he is trying to cover it up. just because he killed osama bin laden, does not mean all taliban is gone.

that is it. >> next is joining us from tennessee, a democrat line. >> biden did a good job tonight. he has my vote. >> thank you for the call. -- we will get to more of your calls and comments. we want to share with you how this plays out on other cable channels. this is a portion from earlier tonight. , he kennedy's program interviewed -- sean hannity's program as he interviewed sarah pailin. rude and condescending, i am hearing from a lot of people. >> well, i believe joe biden was

sent in as the attack dog in this debate to compensate for --sident obama's a process obama's atrocious shelling. he was disconnected and and not engaged with what was important voters.rican polis a tough format for someone like paul ryan or anyone against joe biden when the moderator allowed one canada to run the shot over the conversation over the opponent. that is a tough format. it reminded me of watching a must watch run across the tundra with somebody underfoot. in this case, it was paul ryan underfoot, because of the moderator allowing biden to take control of the conversation.

>> maybe there is a lesson to be learned. every time he -- she interrupted, it was to bail out joe biden. when joe biden talked about they are down on america and betting against america, holding hostage was another term he used, and he is working for a president that lectures a country on civility. i wanted to get your take on those particular terms, the vice president. that is rhetoric that did not go over well with those who are rational american voters just cts and theo with fa true state of the union. the state of the union is not very good right now because of

the policies of obama and biden. what you will see tonight is along with the rhetoric, what you will see as a result of that was the mainstream media posse tomorrow morning will probably want to give a quota and " win -- "win" to joe biden. kill biden is passionate about the wrong things. -- joe biden is passionate about the wrong things. paul ryan was pulled together. what he was trying to explain was that the republican platform is build on this notion of an powering the individual, small businesses, the middle class, the average, everyday americans. they are looked -- not looking for government to take the flukes -- the fruits of our labor and redistribute it.

>> some spin and reaction from fox news. -- matt miller on our facebook page -- what did you think tonight, tom? independent mind. caller: i thought vice president biden spent a lot more time on democratic talking points than he did on actual solutions and issues. i thought he came off as smirking, snarky, and i really thought mr. ryan thought -- came across as more genuine.

>> thank you for the call. the campaign continues tomorrow for joe biden. he will be joined by his wife in a joint appearance at the university of wisconsin. live coverage at 2:45 eastern time here on c-span. also on c-span radio. governor romney, joined by paul ryan, the vice presidential run -- nominee, a joint appearance at 5:40 eastern time, to a clock 44 those of you in the western coast. as the polls show, the rates -- the race has tightened. republican line, cathy. good morning. caller: i was also born at mercy hospital. my concern is about unemployment. i understand they are saying the rates have gone down. i was disappointed because from

what i understand, the statistics for unemployment are based on the amount of unemployment checks that are issued and who are being traced, etc. how many people have had their unemployment run out. how the -- how are they being traced ask? i believe they are higher than what is being stated, the unemployment rates. i wish that came out tonight. i do not believe anyone is being traced in any way. they are left there to hang. >> nest is a viewer from greenbelt, maryland. democrat line. welcome to the conversation. caller: how are we doing today? >> fine, thank you. caller: my whole thing is biden put everything on the table.

he expressed things he should not have expressed. >> thank you for the call. -- james is joining us on our independent line from south dakota. go ahead. are you with us? caller: i was calling about on- line commentaries on youtube that went along with the bait. he heavily criticized the intervention in afghanistan.

>> thank you for the call. you can view a debate. watch and engage. it is part of our campaign coverage. we are joined from georgia. republican line. go ahead. caller: i would like to compliment congressman ryan. he has a fresh new mind. america needs that. we do not need to focus on roe vs. wade and this crap. we need to focus on getting our society back together and being the united states of america. people fear to mess with us. it seems to me we are getting weaker and weaker. our military. i am for the republicans and i

am for mr. romney. that is what i have to say. >> they give for the call. two 19th century presidents graduated from the college in kentucky. this is the second time the college has hosted a vice presidential debate. the first was in 2000. back again for tonight's first and only vice-presidential debate. available on our web site, c- span.org. following the debate, the media's room providing his own spin on the vice-president's performance. caller: a clash between fact and conviction. i heard the congressman say at the end of his speech they will follow through. [indiscernible] we did not get an answer on the tax plan.

the one thing he ran away from, the $2 billion comment that govern the romney made, the defense spending. he could not explain their medicare plan. he tried to run away from the fact on senior citizens over time. he criticized the stimulus plan, the recovery act, stopping the free-fall of the economy. he looked sheepish when the vice president mentioned brian himself had written a letter asking for the money from the program because he said it would help the wisconsin economy and would create jobs in winter -- in wisconsin. i thought congressman ryan was on the run from start to finish. the one thing he did say and the american people heard clearly tonight is they will not hear

the commitment to leave afghanistan in 2014. was one of the only things he made clear tonight. it was a decisive victory. >> style vs. content? how would you judge it? >> i do not know how earnest you are when you are running away from every question you ask. i do not think that is earnest. it looked like a principled debate. in terms of style, joe biden is authentic and real. he is straightforward. he says woody things. he says woody means. -- he says what he thinks. he says what he means. he gave the kind of polished performance you get from the

president. when you get to explaining what it would mean for the country and the middle class, i thought it was a disaster. >> david from the media filing center, otherwise known as spin alley as he took a leading role in preparing the vice president for this debate. a reminder, two more debates. the presidential candidates meeting face-to-face next week at hofstra university in new york. and october 22. more of your calls and reactions on our twitter page. -- from our facebook page, there is this. --

>> you can join us on facebook or send us a tweet on our twitter page. our next call is from california. caller: i want to say i felt joe biden was right on. he won, hands down. he was very matter of fact. he knew what he was talking about. he pinpointed every issue and paul ryan just ramble on and on and did not commit himself to anything. he refers to the democrats cannot work with congress. it is because congress is,

intentionally -- does not want to work with democrats. they are all republicans. very many of them want to make sure the democratic party looks bad. >> was there a moment from the debate that stood out in your own mind? caller: i think joe biden was so sincere, so committed to the middle-class people, i just really have 100%, 110% faith in him and president obama. i think our economy will get better. i see it around our area. it is starting to get better now. i believe it will continue that way if we keep joe biden and president obama. >> thank you for the call. it is 20 minutes past the hour.

reaction to tonight's debate. the republican line, on the phone from rodgers still, tennessee. caller: i am a graduate of the college. i am a lawyer in tennessee. i believe congressman ryan performed very well. our vice president, he hid behind the rhetoric they have been giving for the last six months. they are staying behind it. >> it was there a moment, a line from the debate you took away tonight? caller: yes. i was very impressed with the way congressman ryan made out to the point of the five-step plan. every time he tried to get into the plan and talk specifics, he was either cut off by biden or

by martha. every time he tried to get into it and talk specifics, he seemed to be cut off. that really bothered me. >> that you for the call. it did not take long. the republican national committee releasing its own youtube add just in the last hour using c-span footage to emphasize this point. >> it is never too early to speak out for our values. let me tell you about the mitt romney i know. do not raise taxes on small businesses because they are our job creators. >> incredible. >> you both saw yahoo! hold up the picture with the red line of a bomb. >> in spite of their opposition. all i have to point to are the results. we are caught -- they are four years closer to a nuclear

weapon. do they -- did they come in and inherit a difficult situation? absolutely. they are going in the wrong direction. last year was lower than the year before. jobs growth in september was less than august, and august was slower than it was in july. >> the republican national committee is responsible for the content of this advertising. >> that video ad coming in just from the last hour. the debate emphasizing the republican point on our twitter page. there is this -- there is this --

>> we are joined from long beach california. what did you take away from it? caller: i am a republican from the beginning of the voting career. i was one of the fortunate ones that i was allowed to vote when i turned 18. up until the reagan administration, which i did vote for, and his triple-down theories, it is like standing in the rain with your mouth open tried to get water and you are dying of thirst, it does not work. i think biden did a great job. they tried to pin mr. ryan down for his theories, he can only come up with the refrain, i want a car working and ready when i buy it. he did not have any details. he just wanted to get together

and say they would work together to get this going. that is not a plan. >> thank you for the call. naomi is next from wyoming. independent line. go ahead. caller: i have been listening to a lot of people who are pretty decided whether they are republican and democrat. i have to say if i had not already made up my mind before tonight's debate, i am definitely leaning republican. i was not able to take a lot away as far as content and what mr. biden had to say because i was so turned off by his arrogance and obnoxious, repeated laughing. i do not find anything funny with what is going on. the economy, the moral decline. i found mr. ryan seems to exhibit grace under pressure. he seemed particulates. -- particulates. -- articulate.

basically mocking them. he did not seem to take serious the thoughts and considerations independent voters have right now when they are trying to take -- make a decision. i found a personally insulting the way biden behave. >> how will you watch the upcoming two price -- two vice presidential debates? are you looking for anything from them? caller: i am looking for more of the same from governor romney. i watched the first debate. i was really impressed by him. i like the business sense. i happen to be from a part of the country that is thriving. that is due to the oil and gas industry. prior to that, i was born and raised -- [static] a democratic leadership.

i moved west, trying to make a better life for myself and my .amily per i feel like governor romney has the most hope for me at this point to make things better and make it so that eventually i can return to where my family is and hope for a better future for my 10-year-old daughter. >> thank you very much for calling from wyoming. a reminder, all of this is posted on our web site, c- span.org. this is one exchange between congressman paul ryan and the vice president. >> mitt romney is a car guy. they keep misquoting him. let me tell you about the mitt romney i know. this is a guy who i was talking to a family.

two of them were paralyzed. they went to the same church. mitt asked if he could come over on christmas. he brought his boys and his wife and gifts. i know you are struggling, do not worry about college, i will pay for it. mitt romney does not tell these stories. it was not the cash, he gave his time, and he has consistently. this is a man who gave 30% of the two of us combined. he is a good man. he cares about 100% of americans in the country. the vice president knows that sometimes the words do not come out of your mouth the right way. [laughter] >> i always say what i mean. so does romney. >> we want everybody to succeed. we want to get everybody out of poverty. we believe in opportunity. that is what we're going to push for.

>> just one of the moments from that 90-minute debate. herb is on the phone from missouri, a democrat line. caller: i was just commenting that the republicans, their big thing is to give the rich tax breaks, their job creators, but under eight years of college, they had not created them. the economy was going down, jobs were going down, people losing homes, and under obama, in just four years, has started to make -- they have another four years to keep it moving. >> thank you for the call. on our twitter page -- next up is monti from georia.

>> i thought the debate was kind of interesting tonight. it was kind of interesting to see the format -- i mean, it was terrible. you had one guy not letting the other one speak, and the other one did not really have -- there was not much substance to what he was saying. i do not know. i did not get much out of it tonight. >> if you were asking the questions, what would you have asked? what was not on the agenda that should have been? >> the questions were pretty spot on. the candidates -- it does not seem like in these debates they have enough time to answer the questions. they are constantly interrupting each other back and forth. i do not know if they had the

questions ahead of time -- i do not think that would help any. then you would not get a genuine answer from your candidates. me looking at it as -- kind of undecided. that is what you are trying to get out of the debates. when you are undecided, you are trying to figure out who you are going to vote for and why you want to vote for them. >> our goal tonight is to hear from you to share with the rest of the country comments about the debate. also to see how it is playing out on other venues including our facebook page.

from msnbc earlier tonight. >> not who won or who lost, but well abortion be more important to then the benghazi dispute? >> i think from the point of view of the democratic faith, the abortion issue that was asked in the context of religion was a crucial thing. i think the obama people were rightly plays with the that emphasis as they reach out to undecideds, middle-class women in states like ohio and pennsylvania and florida. that was important for them. benghazi will not loom as large because any paul of the american people at this point says that what they care about over all overwhelmingly to the exclusion

of anything else is the economy. even though all the time was not about the economy, that is what -- that and cultural issues like abortion. >> it seemed like a congressman was on the defense on the issue of taxing the rich. the best thing he could say is, it will not be enough to balance the budget. everybody knows that is a ludicrous assessment. it has to do with fairness as well as fiscal balance. >> i think joe biden was very strong on all of the talking points and issues that you and i and everybody else said the president did not hit last week. joe biden hit everyone of the marks. in talking to one of the top media advisers for the romney campaign, he said, yes, joe biden made all of the points. he said, that he went on to

criticize the style setting he was too hot, like al gore. when you have the -- when you have one of romney's people conceding the best president made his talking points, that is significant. on taxes and ryan had one very good come back. a line very well rehearsed. he looked at the camera and said, you better watch out middle-class, they are coming after you. that is the best summary paul ryan could give of their side of the argument. i do not think he carried it tonight. i think joe biden did. colorado and had the one good line raising fear on increases of middle-class taxes. >> -- paul r. ryan had one good line of reasoning here on increasing middle-class taxes. >> the republican line, good morning. >> thank you.

i feel like joe biden in this debate was a little offensive and rude. it might have turned off a lot of people from his point. i thought paul ryan was a very well-prepared. he knew what he was talking about. i just thought joe biden came off like a 12-year-old. he got louder and more rude thinking that would change his point. the whole debate was a little weird and crazy. paul ryan said this is not what a real recovery looks like. i agree with that 100%. oh by the -- obama-bite and are not running a real recovery, there are running it into the ground. >> this is from the facebook

page. from our twitter page. next is on our line for democrats is nick from columbus, indiana. >> i was very a impressed with what democrat can did it was talking about. that is our vice-president joe biden. i feel like paul ryan was skirting away from the issues. they would definitely not give a clear answer to what they were proposing to do. basically, i feel like the democrats have a long the plan for this country. the republicans have a more like a quick fix, which is what we do not need right now. i think joe biden had all the

issues. he basically drove the point home. he basically gave the base energy. i am very excited about it. >> thank you for the call. next is chris from new york city and the independent line. >> i would just like to say that after two debates, neither of these guys have convinced me to vote for their point of view. on the topic of the debates, i am not all that thrilled with the questions being asked. i do not feel like the right issues are being addressed. i do not feel like this is the appropriate form. it is all about sound bites and party talking points. never has a been more clear to me that it is necessary for a third voice to be in these debates. >> thank you for the call. the second presidential debate that will take place and not

long island is a town hall meeting format. the final debate will focus on primarily foreign policy issues. debate, 90g's minutes split into 9-10 a magnet -- minute segments focusing on foreign policy issues. >> good evening. i do not usually call into c- span to share my views on politics, but i cannot help but notice we have a vice president who is a -- i mean, would anybody want a vice president like this? boisterous, overbearing, standing for the united states

of america? it was an absolute embarrassment. abc news should be beside themselves. this was the most pathetic debate i think i have ever watched in my entire life. to speak to the middle class, we do not even have a middle-class anymore. i watched my friends who have gone without work for five and six years at a stand it. they have gone through their savings. to think that the wealth of in this country could have to support the majority of the people, what happens when the wealthy no longer have income to support the country? >> thank you for the call. do not be a stranger. this is from the twitter page.

senator among those in the senate room. here is what he had to say after the debate after-- the spin room. >> some tough questions. a tough issue, did he do what he had to do? >> i thought he handled it well. he talked about it personally. i thought he did very well. >> where is the race now? >> i feel better after tonight. >> is the respect to even. ? >> -- is the race back to an even. ? but the next two debates will be

important. the first one was a game changing debate for us and for gov. romney. i think tonight to build on that. i think people will come out of this with the way that ryan performed. he did not have to be -- he did not have to interrupt a lot or he was not squirming -- smirking. i think it will serve him and gov. romney really well. >> it is a different format. he has not had a lot of strengths and town hall meetings. he will do well. >>john thune of south dakota who was on the list as a runnin mate. paul ryan getting the nod. from our twitter page.

next from savannah, georgia. we are getting your reaction to the debate from kentucky. >> this is my first time calling. i am so surprised at how people react about vice president joe biden. mr. romney was a very rude to me the other night during the debate. he talked over the moderator. vice-president joe biden cannot believe that he was sitting there telling lies. >> thank you for the call. one other moment from the debate as it focused on taxes, the economy, and the deficit, and a reference to former president

kennedy. >> first of all, i was there when ronald reagan gave specifics to what he was going to cut in terms of tax expenditures. 97% of small-business americans paid -- make less than $250,000. amid tell you who some of the other small businesses are. hedge funds that make a hundred million dollars a year. that is what they call as small business. gov. romney on 60 minutes about 10 days ago was asked, you pay 14% on $20 million. somebody making $50,000 face more than that. he said that is fair. that is fair. do you think these guys are going to go out there and cut the loopholes? the biggest loophole they take advantage of is the carriage

entrance loophole and the capital gains loophole. the reason that the american enterprise study, the tax policy center study all say taxes will go up on the middle-class is it is the only way you can find at $5 trillion and loopholes as to cut the mortgage deduction for middle-class people, take away their ability to get a tax break to send their kids to college. >> is he wrong about that? >> he is wrong about that. and cut tax rates by 20% and still preserve important preferences for middle-class taxpayers. >> it is not mathematically possible. it has never been done before. >> it has never been done before. ronald reagan and jack kennedy did it to increase growth. >> now you are jack kennedy. >> republicans and democrats have worked together on this.

>> we told each other what we are going to do. we said this is what we will cut. >> that is how you get things done. let me say it this way. >> a republican congress working bipartisan way? 7% rating? >> mitt romney was a governor of massachusetts for 87% of the legislature he worked with was democrats. he did not demonize them. he met with them every week. he reached across the aisle and did not compromise principles. he balanced the budget. >> why is he even contesting massachusetts? >> from tonight's debate -- you can post and share clubs as you are seeing tonight from the debate. it is all from the debate hub on c-span.org as you watch and engage in the debates. from our twitter page --

curtis is on the phone from georgia on the independent line. >> i think that -- we have candidates today, we should be supporting each other. i think it is time to elect mature people and congress to give the country moving back the way it should be. >> thank you for the call. congressman chris van holland is a democrat from maryland. he also helped prepare the vice- president. he played paul ryan during the debate preparations. the vice presidents spending much of the time in his home state of delaware. >> it was a clear win for the

american people. joe biden came out -- he was passionate about it. >> some people like him and some did not. the people in the middle that matter, or they distracted by --[indiscernible] >> i do not think so. [indiscernible] when you have somebody next to you making comments incredible, it is kind of humorous. [indiscernible]

paul ryan asked him for money to create jobs in his district. i thought that was important. reminding people about privatizing social security and what would have happened to seniors during this -- during the financial crisis -- crisis. >> be no politics as well as anybody in the house. have democrats gotten back on track in the last week or so? >> i think we are. a really good night in crystallizing the differences.

romney and ryan talk about facts and statistics but they never boil it down. >> it is always hard to look at polls, but i do know tonight was a really good night for obama- buy the ticket. -- joe biden ticket. >> the ranking democrat on the house budget committee and somebody who does paul ryan them very well. he played paul ryan during the debate preparations. eddie is on the phone from irving, texas on the republican line. eddie, we are getting feedback. please go ahead. >> yes, it, republican, texas. a few steps back to the abortion issue, i believe it says in our constitution we have an inalienable right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. it is pretty much my point.

i felt paul ryan pretty much stuck to the point of conception. >> thank you for the call. john from carolina saying -- bonnie is on the phone from oregon. >> i was just really disappointed with bias president biden. there was a time when i really respected him professionally. -- i wsa disappointed with vice- president biden. he was an embarrassment to his office. he was a really rooted not only to-- rude not only to rise and but to the audience both of there and here watching television. yelling and cauchy, like i may

not be right, but i am never wrong. it really bothered me. >> you are calling on the democrats' line. are you voting for the president? >> i do not think so. there was a time when democrats really believed in hope and change. we got a lot of change, but now or we hoped for. >> who did you vote for in 2008? what i am not going to tell you. my vote is my vote. i have so many friends and neighbors that had to move out of state in order to get a job and other ones that could not get a job at all. a lot of college kids i know that never -- they do not think they will ever get a job. >> thank you for the call. we will go to court next from louisiana on the republican line. -- courtney next from the

republican line. >> this is my first time calling. i was very upset about how vice president biden basically lied about how -- the military requested assistance in protecting the embassy over there. it has come out that the military did request assistance. >> ok. >> i do not like the fact that they want to cut our troops, cut off funding when we need to the strongest military in the world. >> thank you for the call. foreign policy coming up in the debate. the first question focusing on libya and the onin benghazi. put forth by the united states and

you and countries. >> we do not want to broadcast to our enemies, put a date on your calendar and wait us out and come back. >> you agree with the timeline? >> we do agree with the timeline and transition, but what any administration will do and 2013 is assess the situation to how best to -- >> we will leave a in 2014. >> we do not want to get our allies reason to trust us less and enemies -- we do not want to emboldened the enemies to hold and went out for us. >> that is a bizarre statement. 49 of our allies -- 49 of our allies signed on to this position. >> and we are reading -- >> 49 said out in 2014. it is the responsibility of the afghans.

>> we have afghan forces murdering our forces over there. are they takingn -- advantage of this timeline? >> you saw it in iraq it. unless you set a time line, baghdad and kabul will not step up. they are happy to let us do the job. the only way they step up is to say, fellows, we are leaving. we train the. step up. that is the only way it works. >> let me go back to the search trips we put in there. he brought this up, congressman ryan that. i have spoken with senior officers that were concerned

the surged troops were pulled out. some of them saw that as a political move. can you tell me, what was the military reason for bringing them home? >> when the president announced the surge, you will remember, he said, the surge will be out by the end of the summer. the military said the surge will be out. there is nothing political about this. before the surge occurred, we said they will be out by the end of the summer. >> from the debate earlier in the evening. what did you think? >> i thought joe biden did an excellent job. people want to talk about him being aggressive, but let's not forget how mitt romney was against the president in the presidential debate. i think joe biden spoke and gave ideals and gave fax and also told what he was going to do to

plan. -- facts and tell what he was going to do to plan. i hope that when he gets reelected again, the congress does not do what they said they were going to do the last two years and i get him reelected. >> thank you for the call from georgia. there is this from brenda on our facebook page. roy is on the phone from kentucky. >> good morning. i think democrats -- i think al gore was kind of upset because

he was interrupting the republican, ron paul. i will vote for mitt romney because he talks like he has a head on strong. he will get the industrial back to work. how much is obama spending every year on an green global environment? how much money has he spent on the environment? everybody keeps calling me wanting me to go to college and stuff. how can i go to work -- there is no industrial work? >> thank you for the call. you mentioned ron paul -- of course it was congressman paul ryan debating tonight. >> i want to state that you said earlier that somebody on the

page stated joe biden was a fool. he was an overly aggressive. i feel like obama should have been more aggressive with romney in the first debate. look, joe biden put it this administrative record on the record. paul ryan that could not back up what he was saying. >> ok. thank you for the call. john has this point. . >> and other men are two with your calls and comments and another chance to see the debate in its entirety. less is on the phone from kentucky. >> is essentially the format

really did not serve either by then -- joe biden or paul ryan. i thought the constant interruptions word beneath the dignity of somebody running for the office. joe biden really turns a lot of people off. i am a democrat. i think this pretty much sealed it for me. i decided if joe biden is a heartbeat from the presidency assuming obama gets reelected, i think i will follow congressman arthur davis from alabama. his lead. this has pretty much done it for me. i will vote republican. i cannot see joe biden as a president.

>> did tonight's debate turned the time for you? >> i think so. i think if you are looking at paul ryan, he was sharp and courteous and tried to maintain a degree of professionalism and respect. joe biden in my opinion seemed to try to bomb rush not only paul ryan but the moderator as well. he was told -- it was not the air. in my humble opinion, i have pretty much decided after tonight's debated that i will follow congressman arthur davis's lead it. >> did you vote for barack obama

four years ago? >> i will reserve comment for that. i would not say who i voted for. i did vote for humphrey a denture 1968. >> one final comment. -- i did vote for humphrey in 1968. a reminder that the debate is available on our web site at c- span.org. 'you can check out the debate, but. tomorrow the president travels to wisconsin. a campaign rally on the campus of the university of wisconsin joined by his wife. that gets under way at 2:45 eastern time on c-span, also on c-span radio. later in the afternoon paul ryan joined by mitt romney campaigning together.

in another chance later in the morning to join us with calls and comments. "the washington journal" gets under way at 7:00. we will devote much of the morning to your reaction. we want to hear from first-time voters. up next, another chance for you to watch the debate. 90 minutes from centre college in kentucky;. a 90 minute debate focusing on domestic and foreign-policy issues. coverage here on c-span. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] [captioning performed by national captioning institute]

>> good evening and welcome to the first and only vice- presidential debate of 2012. i am martha raddatz. i am honored to moderate this debate between the two men who have dedicated much of their lives to public service. it is divided between domestic and foreign policy issues. i will move back and forth between foreign and domestic. we will have nine different segments. at the beginning of each segment, i will ask both candidates a question and they will each have two minutes to answer. i will encourage discussion between the candidate with follow-up question. it has been determined that the vice president biden will be first to answer the opening question. we have a wonderful audience here at centre college.

right now, we welcome vice president joe biden and congressman paul ryan. [applause] >> good evening, gentlemen. it is an honor to be here with both of you. i would like to begin with libya. on a rather somber note, one month ago tonight on the anniversary of 9/11, ambassador stevens and three other brave americans were killed in a terrorist attack in benghazi. the state department has made clear there were no protesters

there. it was a preplanned assault by heavily armed men. wasn't this a massive intelligence failure? >> chris stevens was one of our best. we will find and bring to justice the men who did this. we will get to the bottom of it and wherever the facts lead us, we will make clear, whatever mistakes were made will not be made again. you should take a look at his most important responsibility. that is caring for the national security of the country. take a look at how he has handled the issues of the day. on iraq, the president has said he would end the war. governor romney said that was a

tragic mistake. we should have left 30,000 troops there. with regard to afghanistan, he said he will end the war in 2014. governor romney said we should not set a date. when it came to osama bin laden, the president, the first day in office, i was sitting with him in the oval office and he called in the cia, my highest priority is to get bin laden. prior to the election, governor romney was asked the question about how we would proceed. he did not understand it was more about restoring america's heart. if you do harm to america, we will track you to the gates of hell. the president of the united states has led with a steady

hand and a clear vision. governor romney, the opposite. the last thing we need now is another war. >> we mourn the loss of these four americans who were murdered. you take a look at what has happened in the last few weeks. they sent the u.n. ambassador out to say that this was because of a protest and a youtube video. it took the president two weeks to acknowledge that this was a terrorist attack. he went to the u.n. and he said six times the youtube video. if we are hit by terrorists, we are going to call it. our ambassador in paris has a marine detachment guarding him. should we have the marine detachment guarding our ambassador in benghazi? we knew there was an al qaeda cell. this is becoming more troubling by the day. they first blamed the youtube video. now they are blaming the

romney-ryan ticket. we had the same position before the withdrawal. let's make sure we secure our gains. the vice-president was put in charge of those negotiations by president obama. he failed to get the agreement. that is what we were talking about. when it comes to our veterans, we owe them a great debt of gratitude. including your son. we also want to make sure that we do not lose the things we fought so hard to get. with respect to afghanistan, we agree with a 2014 transition. we want to make sure we are not projecting weakness abroad. this benghazi issue, it is indicative of a broader problem. what we're watching on our tv screens is the unraveling of the obama foreign policy.

it is making the world more chaotic. >> i want to talk about, in the middle of the crisis, governor romney talked about apologies from the obama administration. was that appropriate in the middle of the crisis? >> on that same day, the obama administration was in that same position. they disavowed their own statement they put up earlier in the day in cairo. it is never too early to speak out for our values. we should have spoken out right away. we should always stand up for peace, democracy, individual rights. we should not be imposing these devastating defense cuts. when we equivocate on our values, it make us look weak. when we look weak, our

adversaries are much more willing to test us. >> that is a bunch of malarkey. this lecture on embassy security. the congressman cut embassy security in his budget by $300 million below what we asked for. so much for the embassy security. governor romney, before he knew the facts, before he knew that the ambassador was killed, he was out making political statements. he was panned by the media around the world. this talk about this weakness, i do not understand what my friend is talking about. this is a president who has done everything he has said he is

going to do. he has repaired our alliances. this is a guy who brought the entire world to bring about the most -- the most devastating efforts on iran to make sure they stop. these guys bet against america all the time. >> let me go back to libya. what were you first told about the attack? why were people talking about protests? when people in the consulate first saw armed men attacking with guns, there were no protesters. >> we were told by the intelligence community -- as they learned more facts about what happened, they changed their assessment. that is why there is also an investigation as to whether or not there were any lapses.

>> they wanted more security there. >> we did not know they wanted more security. by the way, at the time, we were told exactly what the intelligence community told us they knew. that was the assessment. they changed their view and made it clear they changed their view. we will get to the bottom of this. usually in a crisis, we pull together as a nation. even before we knew what happened to the ambassador, the governor was holding a press conference. that is not presidential leadership. >> i want to ask you about -- the romney campaign talks a lot about no apologies. should the u.s. have apologized for americans burning korans in afghanistan? should the u.s. apologize for

americans urinating on taliban corpses? >> what we should not be apologizing for are standing up for our values. what we should not be doing is saying to the egyptian people, mubarak is cracking down on them, that he is a good guy. and the next day, saying he ought to go. we should not be rejecting claims for more security. we need more marines in benghazi. there were requests for extra security, those requests were not honored. this was the anniversary of 9/11. it was libya, a country we knew we had al qaeda there. al qaeda and its affiliates are on the rise in northern africa. we did not give our ambassador in benghazi a marine detachment. we should not apologize for our

values. look at all the various issues out there. the vice president talks about sanctions in iran. >> i would like to move to iran. there is really no bigger national security issue in this country. both president obama and governor romney said it will prevent iran from getting nuclear weapons even if that means military action. last week, former defense secretary said a strike on iran's facility would not work and could prove catastrophic, haunting us for generations. can the two of you be absolutely clear and specific to the american people how was that would military strike be? >> we cannot allow iran to gain nuclear weapons capability. we's take a look that where have come from. when barack obama was elected,

they had enough material to make one bomb. now they have enough for five. they are four years closer towards nuclear weapons capability. we have had four different sanctions. the only reason we got it was because of russia watered it down. mitt romney proposed these sanctions in 2007. the administration was blocking us every step of the way. only because we had strong bipartisan support for these tough sanctions were we able to overrule the objections and put them in in spite of the administration. look at what they are doing. they're stepping up their terrorist attacks. they tried a terrorist attack in the united states last year. talk about credibility. when this administration says all options are on the table, they send all these mixed signals.

in order to solve this peacefully, you have to have the ayatollahs change their minds. look at where they are. it is because this administration has no credibility on this issue. this administration watered down sanctions. now we have been in place because of congress. the military option is not being viewed as credible. make sure we have credibility. under a romney administration, we will have credibility. >> incredible. do you think there is any possibility the entire world would have joined us? russia and china? these are the most crippling sanctions in the history of sanctions. period.

when the governor is asked about it, he said, we have to keep the sanctions. you're going to go to war? the interesting thing, how are they going to prevent war? there is nothing more they'd say we should do than what we have already done. with regard to the ability of the united states to take action militarily, it is not in my purview to talk about classified information. we feel quite confident we could deal a serious blow to the iranians. the iranians are -- the israelis and united states intelligence communities are the same exact place in terms of how close the iranians are to getting a nuclear weapon. there is no difference between our view and theirs.

when my friend talks about material, they have to take this highly enriched uranium, then they have to be able to have something to put it in. there is no weapon the iranians have at this point. both the israelis and we will know if they start the process. all this bluster i keep hearing, what are they talking about? are you talking about to be more credible? what more can the president do? directly communicate to the ayatollah. we will not let them to acquire a nuclear weapon. >> let's look at this from the view of the ayatollahs. what do they see? they see this administration trying to water down sanctions in congress for over two years. they're moving faster toward a

nuclear weapon. they see us saying, we need more space for their ally israel. they see president obama in new york city the same day -- instead of meeting netanyahu, goes on a daily talk show. when we say that these options are on the table, the secretary of defense walked them back. they are not changing their minds. that is what we have to do, change their minds. >> you both saw benjamin netanyahu hold up that picture of obama with a red line and talking about the red line being in spring. -- a bomb with a red line and talk about the red line being in spring. can you solve this? if you are elected, can you solve this in two months before spring and avoid -- >> we can debate the timeline. i agree that it is longer. we both agreed that to do this peacefully, you have to get them to change their minds. they are not changing their

minds. >> the ayatollah sees an economy being crippled. 50% fewer exports of oil. the currency is going in the tank. he sees the economy going into free-fall. he sees the world totally united in opposition. the president has met him a dozen times. he has spoken to netanyahu as much as he has spoken to anybody. just before he went to the un, i was in a conference call with the president talking for well over an hour. stark detail about what was going on. >> what does that mean?

>> the irish call it malarkey. we will not allow the iranians to get a nuclear weapon. when they get to the point where they can enrich uranium in half to put into a weapon, they do not have a weapon to put it into. calm down. iran is more isolated today than when we took office. it is totally isolated. i do not know what world these guys are in. >> in spite of their opposition. they had given 20 waivers to this section. all i have to point to our results. they are four years closer to a

nuclear weapon. >> can you tell the american people -- >> they are closer to being able to get another -- enough material to put it in a weapon if they had a weapon. facts matter, martha. you are a foreign policy expert, facts matter. all of this loose talk, not true. not true. if we ever have to take action, we will have the world behind us. that matters. that matters. >> what about bob gates? let me read it again. "could prove catastrophic, haunting us for generations." >> he is right. >> it undermines our credibility by backing up the point where we make it or all options are on the table. the ayatollahs see these kinds of statements and they think, i

am going to get a nuclear weapon. when we see the kind of equivocation that took place because this administration wanted a precondition policy, they were silent for nine days. when they see us putting daylight between ourselves and our allies in israel, that gives them encouragement. when they see russia watering down any further sanctions, the only reason we got a u.n. sanction was because russia watered it down. when they see this type of activity, they are encouraged to continue. >> let me ask you what is worse, war in the middle east or nuclear arms iran? >> a nuclear arms iran, which triggers a nuclear arms race in the middle east. this is the world's largest sponsor of terrorism. they call us the great satan. if they get nuclear weapons,

other people in the neighborhood will pursue their nuclear weapons as well. >> war should always be the absolute last resort. that is why these crippling sanctions -- if i am not mistaken, governor romney says we should continue. i may be mistaken, he changes his mind so often, i could be wrong. he says they're working. they are being crippled by them. we have made it clear, big nations cannot bluff. this president does not bluff. >> the number-one issue here at home is jobs. the percentage of unemployed just fell below 8% for the first time in 43 months. the obama administration had projected that it would fall

below 6% after the addition of close to a trillion dollars in stimulus money. will both of you level with the american people? can you get unemployment to under 6%? how long will it take? >> we can and we will. let's look at where we were when we came to office. the economy was in freefall. we had the great recession. 9 million people lost their jobs. $1.60 trillion in wealth lost, equity in your homes, retirement accounts. we immediately went out and rescued general motors. we went ahead and made sure we cut taxes. in addition to that, when that occurred, what did romney do? let detroit go bankrupt. for a guy who says 47% of the american people are unwilling to take responsibility.

my friend recently gave a speech to washington state, 30% of the american people are takers. these people are my mom and dad. they are elderly people who are living off social security. there are veterans and people fighting in afghanistan right now who are "not paying any taxes." it's about time they take some responsibility. instead of signing pledges to grover norquist, they should be signing a pledge saying to the middle class, we will level the playing field. we will give you a fair shot again. we will not repeat the mistakes we made in the past by having a different set of rules for wall street and main street, making sure we continue to hemorrhage these tax cuts for the super

wealthy. they are holding hostage the middle class tax cut because they say we won't continue the middle class tax cut unless you give the tax cut for the super wealthy. it is about time they take some responsibility. >> joe and i are from similar towns. do you know what the unemployment rate in scranton is today? 10%. that is how is going all around america. >> that is not how it is going. it is going down. >> did they inherit a tough situation? absolutely. but we're going in the wrong direction. the economy is barely limping along.

it's growing at 1.3%. job growth in september was slower than it was in august and august was slower than it was in july. we're heading in the wrong direction. 23 million americans are struggling for work. 15% of americans are living in poverty. this is not what a real recovery looks like. we need real reforms for a real recovery. that is exactly what we are proposing. get america energy independent by the end of the decade. get this deficit and debt under control. make trade work for america. champion small businesses, do not raise taxes on small businesses. they are our job creators. he talks about detroit. mitt romney is a car guy. this is a guy who -- i was